First, let me say that if you’ve not yet read “FIRST,” my aptly titled first post, then some of this may not make sense. But then again, most of what I have to say doesn’t make a lot of sense anyway, so carry on.
So, as you should already know, having read “FIRST,” (right??), I am condemned to a lifetime (or few months) of depending upon MetroAccess as my primary source of transportation. God help me. First, to give you a more solid perspective of how horrible WMATA (wash metro area transit authority) is, please take a peek at THIS blog! http://unsuckdcmetro.blogspot.com
WMATA is almost comically horrible. I say almost, because now that *I* depend upon WMATA, it’s horribleness is far less comical! I was not excited about being dependent upon an organization that seemingly makes a living on being undependable. I was told that I had to go PHYSICALLY see my doctor to have her fill out a form, THEN I could call them to tell them I needed the service, so they could then schedule an appointment for me to physically come into their office in DC to talk to them in person about the form that I filled out in person. Yeah, thank god I’m not disabled or anything.
My MetroAccess bus picked me up for free for my appointment. They were there on time, the guy was awesome, and we had a lovely chat all the way into DC. I was greeted at the curb by another AMAZING guy, a former marathoner himself, who scooped me up into a wheelchair, and wheeled me all the way into the Metro office. I was in the waiting room for fewer than 5 minutes before I was seen. I was asked a handful of questions, she explained how to use the service, took my picture, and gave me access for a full calendar year. I went back into the waiting room, was scooped up again, and brought directly to a waiting MetroAccess van, and taken home.
The ride home was a little interesting, since my driver seemed fairly uninterested in following the GPS… but not a big deal. She was also wonderful, and I feel fairly certain that by the end of the trip, I’d convinced her to apply for her BSN at Georgetown University, but that’s neither here nor there. One topic of discussion was how efficient the Metro office was! I told her how stunned I was about how quickly they got me in and out, how nice everyone was, etc. The driver just chuckles and says “yes, well they don’t actually work for WMATA, they are a subcontracted agency…” Ah, yes, ok, so that makes a lot more sense.
Upon arriving home, I jumped online, set up my account, and scheduled my trips for the work week to come. What happened next warrants it’s own blog post. In fact, I’ve had enough horrible trips, that I will be dedicating a post for each trip that I take. Trust me, it’s doable!